A+E Interactive » I Hate My Teenage Daughterhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei
Bay Area Arts and Entertainment BlogFri, 31 Jul 2015 15:11:55 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3Review: Not a whole lot to like about “I Hate My Teen age Daughter”http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2011/11/30/review-not-a-whole-lot-to-like-about-i-hate-my-teen-age-daughter/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2011/11/30/review-not-a-whole-lot-to-like-about-i-hate-my-teen-age-daughter/#commentsWed, 30 Nov 2011 21:31:58 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=23350Here’s my theory on why Fox has waited until the end of November to debut its fall sitcom, “I Hate My Teenage Daughter”: This brainless show is so low on laughs and potential that the network wanted to withhold it… Continue Reading →

]]>Here’s my theory on why Fox has waited until the end of November to debut its fall sitcom, “I Hate My Teenage Daughter”: This brainless show is so low on laughs and potential that the network wanted to withhold it from public view for as long as possible. Or maybe Fox programmers simply hoped viewers would be in a more openhearted, post- Thanksgiving, mood.

Perhaps they should have used the extra time to improve the show.

“I Hate My Teenage Daughter,” which premieres tonight, stars Jaime Pressly (“My Name Is Earl”) and Katie Finneran as Annie and Nikki — single moms and lifelong BFFs who were a couple of high school misfits. Now, they find themselves completely baffled by the pair of bratty queen bees they’ve spawned.

Annie, we learn, was raised in a strict, ultrareligious household. So naturally, she allows her daughter Sophie (Kristi Lauren) to pretty much run wild. Nikki, once an overweight social pariah, has lavished upon her daughter Mackenzie (Aisha Dee) all the things — clothes, money, self-esteem — she never had.

Consequently, they’ve created the kind of mean girls who tormented them in high school and still haunt their memories. The women know it’s time to lay down the law and become better parents, but they’re pretty much clueless about how to do so.
The show’s creators are onto something here. One only has to watch a few MTV reality shows to realize there is plenty of fodder to be found in contemporary relationships between teen daughters
and their lenient moms. Unfortunately, they’ve bungled just about everything, from the tone and delivery to the jarring laugh track.

Their biggest sin is squandering the substantial talents of the show’s leading ladies. Finneran, especially, pushes her lines to a hammy, over-the- top extreme. And both parents are depicted as so desperate, pathetic and inept that they come across as annoying weenies.

Almost as disappointing is the failure to apply any real defining characteristics to the daughters, who are generic and devoid of charm. It’s an inexcusable misstep, considering that fuller — and funnier — depictions of teen girls can be found in shows like “Modern Family,” “The Middle” and “Suburgatory.”

As it turns out, we’re left with a shrill sitcom that’s hard not to hate.